In-Class Assignment-14-Chapter 14- Project Management The Importance of Project Management When Bechtel, the subject of the opening Global Company Profile, begins a project, it quickly has to mobilize substantial resources, often consisting of manual workers, con- struction professionals, cooks, medical personnel, and even security forces. Its project management team develops a supply chain to access materials to build everything from ports to bridges, dams, and monorails. Bechtel is just one example of a firm that faces modern phenomena: growing project complexity and collapsing product/service life cycles. This change stems from awareness of the strategic value of time-based competition and a quality mandate for continuous improvement. Each new product/service introduction is a unique event-a project. In addition, projects are a common part of our everyday life. We may be planning a wedding or a surprise birthday party, remodeling a house, or preparing a semester-long class project. Scheduling projects can be a difficult challenge for operations managers. The stakes in proj- ect management are high. Cost overruns and unnecessary delays occur due to poor scheduling and poor controls. Projects that take months or years to complete are usually developed outside the normal production system. Project organizations within the firm may be set up to handle such jobs and are often disbanded when the project is complete. On other occasions, managers find projects just a part of their job. The management of projects involves three phases (see Figure 3.1): 1. Planning: This phase includes goal setting, defining the project, and team organization. 2. Scheduling: This phase relates people, money, and supplies to specific activities and relates activities to each other. 3. Controlling: Here the firm monitors resources, costs, quality, and budgets. It also revises or changes plans and shifts resources to meet time and cost demands. Questions: In-Class Assignment-14 Discussion Questions 1. Image you are giving a seminar on "Importance of Project Management". What important issues you will highlight on this topic